Harness Players Newsletter Season 2 Vol. 5
April 4, 2025
Back to a semi-normal week with the start of the Borgata Series at Yonkers taking center stage as the Grand Circuit returned on Monday, March 31. It is a long series, to be sure, but prices were finding the winner's circle in the opening leg with no favorites delivering in the five legs. (Incidentally, the $1 Pick 5 was solved by paying $18684 to a single ticket winner). Jordan Stratton was the star of the night, winning 3 of the legs with Mossdale Ben, Aardies Flash, and For Once In My Life for three different trainers. Verdun kicked off the Series with a sharp 26/4 rally to win from well off the pace after Charlie May came first up to challenge Chase H Hanover. It was a blanket finish here, with the top 4 finishing within half a length. For Once Inmy Life was Ray’s Best Bet on the card, and he delivered, holding off a game Coaches Corner in the second division. He looked like he could have a break-out series with that effort. He’s one to watch going forward as one of the ones to beat. Aardies Flash was a 17/1 off-the-pace winner in division three when Humble faltered late off the layoff at 0.35-1 odds. Wish You Well was an ok third, producing his best race in a while. Act Fast was bet sub 4/1 on the board and was in front early, but something was amiss as he stopped abruptly. Mossdale Ben continued his undefeated season with a sharp off-the-pace win in division four. I thought Its A Me Mario got a nice drive in this race but he couldn’t hold off one of the sharpest horses in the country right now. Desperate Man was an even third on his return. He could have needed the race but I would be looking to oppose on the board for his next start. Binge on Yankee finished things up in a driving rainstorm in the fifth division when Scotty Z blasted from the outside and held them all off late at 20/1. I liked Admiral Hill in the race but he was fourth early and made no impression late.
This week’s Harness Players Podcast was done in two parts. We have our usual Fraser Friday night Pick 4 but added Century Downs this week and their Pick 5 carryover of nearly $4,000 for Saturday. Track announcer and expert gambler Murray Slough joined Ray Cotolo and me for this portion of the show. Jump in on Fraser Friday and Century Saturday with these wagering, both looking approachable and primed to pay stacks. The second part of the pod focuses on Yonkers and Leg 2 of the Borgata. I think this week, we will have a better grasp on the races.
Instead of Spot Plays this week, I switched it up and asked for some tickets for the Century Pick 5 Carryover for Saturday Afternoon, starting in Race 1. The post time is 2:45 Eastern.
~Mikee P.
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Century Downs Pick 5 Players for the Saturday, April 5th Carryover Starting Race 1 of presented by nahupicks.com
Harness Players’ Podcast | 4/3/25 | Fraser Downs Pick 4 + Century Downs Pick 5 Carryover
Ray Cotolo along with In The Money’s Mike Pribozie as well as Century Downs’ Murray Slough take a look at the $3,800-plus carryover for the Pick 5 at Century Downs on Saturday afternoon (April 5)! The sequence covers Races 1 through 5 and is slated to go postward at 12:45 p.m. (MDT).
The three also take a look at the Late Pick 4 Sequence at Fraser Downs, which covers Races 5 through 8, on its card of racing for Friday night (April 4).
Harness Players Podcast 4/3/25 Part 2 Yonkers Borgata Leg 2
Ray Cotolo and Mike Pribozie dive into the five $50,000 divisions of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway on Monday (April 7), which enters its second of five preliminaries.
(Please note this podcast will be available on YouTube on Saturday)
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Thanks for reading In the Money Media Harness Players Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.